Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 1,461 Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,707 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Mastercard were worth $43,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,179,138 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $40,640,219,000 after buying an additional 377,302 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Mastercard by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,267,937 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $11,725,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,657,792 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $9,800,202,000 after acquiring an additional 282,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,022,224,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Mastercard by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,760,740 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $5,139,713,000 after purchasing an additional 817,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company's stock.

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Mastercard Stock Performance

Shares of MA traded up $5.23 on Tuesday, reaching $517.69. 2,210,547 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,612,639. The firm has a market cap of $471.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.06. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $428.86 and a 12 month high of $582.23. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $540.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $528.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The credit services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.11. Mastercard had a net margin of 45.71% and a return on equity of 188.47%. Equities analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Mastercard's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.89%.

Mastercard declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, December 17th that allows the company to repurchase $12.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the credit services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Mastercard from $654.00 to $644.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Mastercard from $605.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Mastercard from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price target on Mastercard from $565.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $607.96.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, CEO Michael Miebach sold 15,775 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.16, for a total transaction of $8,678,774.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 84,871 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,692,629.36. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Edward Grunde Mclaughlin sold 7,132 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $534.68, for a total transaction of $3,813,337.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,459,292.32. This trade represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.